A Chicago man faces a felony murder charge for allegedly killing his friend’s 12-year-old brother because the boy made fun of him for FaceTiming with his girlfriend.
A judge denied bail for Jaran Hughes, 21, on Wednesday after he was arrested in Racine, Wisconsin. Hughes is accused of fatally shooting the young boy while he was playing video games on Jan. 3. Authorities say he then tried to hide out with relatives following the murder, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Prosecutors also said the crime came out of nowhere as Hughes, 12-year-old Marcel Wilson, and other members of Wilson’s family members sat playing video games at their Englewood home.
Hughes was a longtime family friend and apparently was having a dispute with his girlfriend at the time of the cal. During the FaceTime call, Wilson made a joke about it.
Hughes allegedly responded by drawing a semi-automatic handgun and pointing it at the 12-year-old. The boy and his sister told him to put the weapon away, but the suspect “shot him right in the chest in front of the other family members,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said.
The boy clutched his chest and ran towards his mother’s room, yelling, “He shot me! He shot me!”
He collapsed in the home’s hallway and was pronounced dead after arriving at a nearby hospital.
Search warrants discovered that he wrote to his girlfriend on Facebook, saying, “My life is over. I’m going to be in jail.”
He is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 22.
A great-aunt of Wilson remembered him as “a good little helpful boy.” Donna Gaither said the 12-year-old “liked to be a comedian” and “loved to crack jokes.”
